You Still Have Chance To Get Into Hot WaterSo you say you weren't able to attend the first-ever ACEEE forum on water heating in Sacramento in June?

Fear not. You still have an opportunity to find out what went on at the conference when the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy brought industry, academic, utility and government experts together to talk about technical and policy issues regarding water heating, distribution and use.

ACEEE's conference Web site now has many of the presentations and proceedings online. You can download the conference program, see Power Point presentations and get a summary of the closing remarks. There's an entire section on water heating in commercial kitchens with presentations by Don Fisher, Fisher-Nickel Inc., operator of Pacific Gas & Electric's Food Service Technology Center; and Charles Bohlig, East Bay Municipal Utility District. There's even a section on specifying energy-efficient water heaters, with presentations by the Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission.

Survey Says: LEED Buildings Outperform Status Quo
If speakers at Foodservice Equipment Reports' 2008 Multiunit Foodservice Equipment Symposium in Austin last February didn't convince you the LEED program is a winner, maybe this will: Two recent studies show that buildings constructed to US Green Building Code LEED standards are both more energy-efficient and provide higher value than standard buildings.

A study by the New Buildings Institute, (commissioned by USGBC and the EPA), says Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified buildings are on average 25% to 30% more energy-efficient than conventional buildings. Those earning Gold or Platinum certification are as much as 50% more efficient. And buildings earning the EPA's Energy Star label use 40% less energy and emit 35% less carbon.

A separate study by CoStar Group shows that both LEED- and Energy Star-certified buildings command higher rents and have higher occupancy rates than conventional buildings. LEED buildings get about $11.34 per sq. ft. more in rent, and Energy Star buildings command a premium of about $2.38 over comparable standard buildings. Occupancy rates for both are more than three points greater.

Subway Sees No Signs Of Slowing, Expects 800 New Stores
While the economy has many chains slowing expansion plans, and in some cases closing stores, Subway sees smooth sailing. The sandwich chain is on track to open about 800 stores nationwide this year and another 800 internationally, according to company spokesperson Les Winograd.

Store opening estimates, he said, are based on the pace at which the company is signing franchise agreements as well as past experience with how quickly agreements translate into new stores. As you might expect, the chain's growth is coming from more populous areasstates like California, Illinois, Texas and New York, and big citiesbut much of the chain's recent success has come from non-traditional locations, he said.

"When a new Wal-Mart opens, for example," he said, "odds are pretty good it might have a Subway inside. We're seeing a lot more locations like that." The chain has opened stores in hospitals, a smelting plant and even a church.

Supermarket Chain In India To Open 100 Au Bon Pain Stores
Au Bon Pain is taking its act on the road. The Boston-based bread and sandwich chain inked an agreement with Spencer's Retail Ltd., a 400-store supermarket chain owned by RPG Enterprises, Mumbai, India, to open 100 units in the next two years.

SRL set up a joint venture called Novel Confectioners Ltd., with Varin Narula, Au Bon Pain's master franchisee in India. The partners plan to invest about $12 million to open the stores, with the first likely to open in Bangalore.

"India provides exciting new expansion opportunities for American companies," Au Bon Pain president and CEO Sue Morelli said in a release. The company said Spencer's has the experience and market penetration to quickly introduce the Au Bon Pain brand to Indian consumers.

The deal comes on the heels of the company's recapitalization by LNK Partners, a private equity firm, in March, and the announcement of store openings in Kuwait and Dubai in August.